Electrics and gas
The combi condensate runs unprotected across the yard. Is a freezing risk the same finding as a boiler that failed on the day?
No. A freezing risk on the combi condensate that runs unprotected across the yard is not the same finding as a boiler that failed on the day. The survey can record an exposed condensate pipe. It has not failed the boiler, because it has not serviced the appliance or run it as a test. Condensate is the water the boiler produces as it works. An open run can freeze later and stop the boiler. That is a different sentence from a fault found in the case itself. Ask a Gas Safe engineer to look at the pipe route.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
A combi sends condensate out through a small plastic pipe. An open run across a yard can freeze. The survey is describing the route that was visible. A boiler that failed on the day would be another observation: it did not fire, it showed a fault, or it leaked at the case. An unprotected yard run does not, by itself, mean the burner, the gas valve or the flue has failed. The home survey has not carried out a service.
Ask a Gas Safe engineer to comment on the condensate route and on the boiler as separate items, so a pipe across the yard is not written up as a dead appliance. Do not bury or lag the pipe during a viewing. If the boiler happened to fire during the inspection, keep the pipe note anyway, because a mild day does not insulate an exposed run. Let the engineer say what should change. The survey's point is the route, not a failed service.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- How much of the condensate pipe was bare across the yard, and was any of it lagged?
- Did the combi fire during the inspection, or was it left off and untested?
- Where did the pipe finish, if you could see the end at all?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the exposed condensate and any boiler fault as separate findings.
- Ask a Gas Safe engineer to inspect the yard run.
- Do not lag, bury or reroute the pipe on a viewing.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the boiler lit on the day, can you ignore the pipe across the yard?
No. A flame on the day does not insulate an unprotected condensate. The freezing risk is about the pipe route, not about whether the boiler happened to fire once.
Is condensate the same thing as a leak from the boiler case?
No. Condensate is the planned discharge down the small pipe. Water escaping from the case would be a different defect. The survey was describing the yard run.